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Great minds
don’t think alike

Welcome to Imperial Enterprise Lab, the place where the next generation of student innovators and entrepreneurs challenge the norm, make things happen and change the world for the better. Whatever your idea, meet your people, develop new skills, and start your journey with us.

Bring your ideas to life

Imperial Enterprise Lab is the College’s dedicated entrepreneurship training centre for students and postdocs

We provide year-round extra-curricular programmes, masterclasses, and community events, combined with 1-to-1 advice from over 150 expert coaches and mentors, to help you explore new ideas and bring them to life.

Whether you want to tackle a pressing social or environmental challenge, develop new skills to help you in your career, launch the next global tech unicorn or just meet interesting new people – we’re here to help you.

We believe anyone can be an entrepreneur and will support any founder working on any idea – free of charge and with no expectation of equity in return.

All we ask from you is the courage to put your convictions to the test and the humility to learn.

What are you waiting for?

Get involved

How we
can help

Connect

Co-working Space

Community Collider Events

E-Lab Slack Channel

Idea Challenge

Global Challenge Lab

Explore

Idea Surgeries

How To Masterclasses

Validate

WE Innovate

Medtech SuperConnector (MTSC)

Venture Catalyst Challenge (VCC)

Summer Accelerator

Grow

WE Accelerate

Pitch Surgeries

Experts-in-Residence

Imperial Venture Mentoring Service

Get started

Book an idea surgery

An Idea Surgery is a business coaching session and the first step to accessing all of the great support services available via Enterprise Lab. Simply book a time to chat with a member of the team, and we’ll ask questions, give advice and point you in the right direction.

Visit the Lab

Looking for somewhere to get some work done, hold a meeting or have a quick catch-up with your fellow entrepreneurs? We’ve created the perfect co-working space at the South Kensington campus and it’s open to all Imperial students, Postdocs and alumni.

Experts-in-residence-coaching

What’s On

Whether you’re looking for inspirational speakers, community events or want to see our teams take to the stage to pitch for prizes, we have the event for you. Check out all the events coming up below.

Student pitching with yellow graphic

What’s on

Featured event

WE Innovate Final Graphic

Community Collider

Join Imperial Enterprise Lab’s monthly community get together where students from different departments and faculties across the college can come together, collide, and form interesting new pairings and connections!

Make connections that count

Community Collider is our monthly social that brings together entrepreneurs from every corner of Imperial College London. It’s the place where great minds collide!

Make new friends, meet future collaborators and join the Enterprise Lab community in a friendly, relaxed and creative environment at Community Collider.

Hosted by your Community Support Coordinators, expect fun icebreakers and great conversation together with tasty refreshments. Everyone is welcome to attend, from undergrad to alumni. You don’t even need to have a business idea.

Brilliant brainwaves can come from chance encounters, so take the opportunity to boost your network and get inspired at our next gathering.   

Have a question? Get in touch with the Community Team Enterprise.Lab@imperial.ac.uk

Watch Community Collider in action!

Find out what to expect from our Community Collider event with this video from undergraduate Biological Sciences student Chan, one of our attendees.

Leadership Team

Ben Mumby-Croft
Ben Mumby-Croft

Director of Imperial Enterprise Lab

Markus Perkmann
Markus Perkmann

Academic Director

Sarah Ranchev-Hale
Sarah Ranchev-Hale

Head of Programmes & Partnerships

Community & Operations

Nikki Elliott
Nikki Elliott

Operations Manager

Eleni Erotokritou
Eleni Erotokritou

Community Support Officer

Fredrika Odelstierna
Fredrika Odelstierna

Community Support Officer

Syeda Razzak
Syeda Razzak

Community Support Officer

Programmes

Camille Reltien
Camille Reltien

Innovation and Entrepreneurship Manager

Samara Crocker
Samara Crocker

Innovation & Entrepreneurship Coordinator‬

Euan Bell
Euan Bell

Innovation and Entrepreneurship Manager

Emily Goddard
Emily Goddard

Innovation and Entrepreneurship Coordinator

Incubation Services

Victoria Nicholl
Victoria Nicholl

Head of Incubation Services

Bosede Ogunleye
Bosede Ogunleye

Innovation & Entrepreneurship Manager - Coaching & Mentoring

Olivia Brown
Olivia Brown

Incubation Services Manager (Tech)

What’s on

Upcoming events

Discover what’s on (online, of course!) at Imperial Enterprise Lab

Community Collider October
Community Collider October

Event dateOctober 18, 2023

Join us for the first Community Collider of the 2023/2024 academic year! Sign up

Summer Accelerator 2023 Showcase
Summer Accelerator 2023 Showcase

Event dateOctober 25, 2023

Come and see the Summer Accelerator 2023 Showcase as seven teams pitch their brand new innovations! Sign up

Our community

Meet our game changers

VUI Diagnostics
VUI Diagnostics are developing a technology to provide simple, affordable and accurate retinal imaging to help address avoidable blindness around the world.
Hippocampus
Hippocampus is an immersive virtual reality solution for those who need help with their long-term memory.
The Shellworks Team
The Shellworks

This year’s VCC winners have created a plastic alternative from seafood waste that breaks down in any natural environment, allowing consumers to throw away their waste worry-free.

Jelly Drops
Jelly Drops have created hydrating treats that enable people with dementia to hydrate more often and independently.
hydroCotton
hydroCotton are growing radically sustainable cotton to help the fashion industry clean up the world’s dirtiest crop.
BIO-F Solutions
Bio-F Solutions are transforming the way our food is produced by developing eco-friendly fertilisers based on natural micro-organisms.

Read the latest
issue of D/srupt

The fifth issue of D/srupt has landed!

In this issue we speak to the new President of Imperial College London, Professor Hugh Brady, about the importance of innovation and entrepreneurship. We meet the Imperial Founders that have made the Entrepreneurs’ Pledge to support the next generation, and we delve into the sustainability issues with fast fashion and meet the Imperial startups combatting the problem.

Our magazine

D/srupt magazine cover

Our news

Latest news

From bioengineering to breaking down bias
From bioengineering to breaking down bias

Growing up, Riham Satti knew one thing was for sure – she wasn’t going to be an entrepreneur ... Read more

Our impact

2020/21

 

Businesses incorporated

Million pounds funding raised

Jobs created

Individual students engaged

Resources

Here are some resources to help you on your journey to build your startup. Whether you are early stages with an idea or have an incorporated business, there is something for everyone!

Accelerator Programmes

Looking to take your idea to the next level, fast? Accelerators are a great way of getting seed investment as well as a programme of activity to keep you on track.

Creative Destruction Lab

Creative Destruction Lab (CDL) is a nonprofit organisation that delivers an objectives-based program for massively scalable, seed-stage, science- and technology-based companies.

Mathsworks

MathWorks Accelerator helps startups advance their development and ELab startups can get technical support and guidance from domain experts, plus free access to industry-proven software. 

Techstars

Each year, Techstars choose over 500 early-stage companies to join one of our 3-month, mentorship-driven accelerators, investing $120K and providing hands-on mentorship and access to the Techstars network for life.

Y Combinator

Twice a year Y Combinator invest $500,000 per company in a large number of startups. They work intensively with the companies for three months, to get them into the best possible shape and refine their pitch to investors.

Tools

Useful tools to support your day-to-day activities and events and make you and your team work smarter, not harder.

Biorender

Pre-made icons and templates from more than 30 fields of life sciences. Great for making pitch decks and websites.

Find out more

Bridge

Scale your company faster and avoid operational mistakes with Bridge. All you need to do is provide some basic information about their business, and answer a few questions. In return you’ll get a profile on how your company compares to other companies at a similar stage of fundraising. You’ll also get a prioritised action list to help you get ready for the next round of funding.

Find out more

Google Forms

Create a survey, target respondents and generate statistically significant results in just days. Great for early stage customer discovery!

Find out more

Google Analytics

Gives you the free tools you need to analyse data for your business in one place, so you can make smarter decisions

Find out more

Food Packaging and Labelling

Get the low-down on the legal requirements that you have to follow as a food business.

Find out more

Landscape

A one-stop shop for founder-friendly tools including investor lists, VC reviews (by founders) and partner discounts. The platform also encourages founders to showcase their venture to potential investors. You can also receive and offer help to other founders.

Find out more

Mentimeter

Great tool for creating interactive presentations, interactive polls, quizzes and surveys available to all Imperial students staff and alumni. (NB alumni can get an alumni imperial email address to retain access)

Find out more

Mural

Mural enables innovative teams to think and collaborate visually to solve problems. A great tool for collaborating with your team, especially when working remotely!

Find out more

Odin

A free resource for founders to discover and contact investors anywhere.

Find out more

Strategyzer

Silicon Valley originals, Alexander Osterwalder and David J. Bland have built this platform to help entrepreneurs build their company. With masterclasses, books and canvases to get you started. 

Find out more

The Business Model Canvas

Globally recognised software to design business models.

Find out more

Value Proposition Canvas

A great tool to help you understand your customers

Find out more

Keynotes

Introduction to UN SDG’s swith Prof. Michael Templeton

What is UN Sustainable Development Goal #3 Good Health and Well-being and why is this particular goal important? Imperial College London’s Professor Michael Templeton explores the UN Sustainable Development Goals, with a focus on Goal 3: Good Health and Wellbeing.

Introduction to Global Challenge Lab 2021 Tracks

Join Dr Nazneen Rahman, Founder of YewMaker as we discuss the four tracks on the Global Challenge Lab 2021.

Get in touch

Contact us

Address

Imperial College London
Level 0, Sherfield Building
(Access next to Great Hall)
South Kensington Campus
Exhibition Road
London SW7 2AZ

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Opening hours

We are open Monday – Friday. Please visit our Co-Working Space page for our current opening hours

Contact

Email us

Tel: +44 (0)20 7594 1964

Newsletter

Be the first to know!

To get all the info on our upcoming events, programmes and news, sign up to our mailing list!

We promise to only use your data for good things. Read our privacy policy to find out more.

Grand Final

Closing Ceremony & Demo Day

Hear from the top eight global teams as they pitch to win a share of the £20,000 prize fund.

We will also host a fireside chat between Anne-Marie Tomchak and Fred Hassan, where we will explore Fred’s exceptional career, his thoughts on the healthcare industry and his advice on leadership.

Global Challenge Lab

Join students from across the world to form international teams and generate solutions to some of the world’s most pressing challenges and work towards the UN Sustainable Development Skills. Learn new skills, meet new people and win a share of the prize fund.

This year the Challenge will focus on goal number seven: Affordable and Clean Energy.

Animated logo
In partnership with:
Tsinghua x-lab logo-white
White TUM
White TUM

Supported by:

Futurize Logo

Our partners:

LSE logo
White SUTD 2
University of Queensland logo
University of Sao Paulo
University of Toronto

Designed to boost the opportunities available to women in entrepreneurship, over the past 9 years, Imperial’s WE Innovate programme has provided a wide range of opportunities to women interested in entrepreneurship, from developing business ideas and entrepreneurship skills to raising investment and networking.  

This year, the WE Innovate programme will culminate our live final, providing an opportunity to celebrate the brilliant achievements and progress of women entrepreneurs at Imperial College London. In our final event, our £33K prize fund, sponsored by bp, will be awarded by a panel of world-class entrepreneurial, academic and industry experts.

To our audience in the room, welcome! It’s great to have you with us. Anyone unable to join us this evening will be able to access the recording of the event at the link below from the 23 June 2023.

Message from Professor Maggie Dallman
Vice-President (International) & Associate Provost (Academic Partnerships), 
Imperial College London

It is an absolute pleasure to welcome you to the WE Innovate Final 2023. I am honoured to be supporting the programme once again this year and very much looking forward to learning more about the ideas that the teams have come up with over the past 6 months and welcoming you to the Final and networking event this June, where the 5 finalists will pitch to the judges, and all the teams can showcase their ventures.  

Supporting women’s entrepreneurship at Imperial not only helps our women students, graduates and alumni achieve their potential, but also promotes the significant contributions which women make to our society. Nowhere is this more important than in STEM fields, where young women are still woefully underrepresented. At Imperial, we are also fortunate to attract students from a wide range of backgrounds and it is incredibly encouraging to see this diversity reflected in this year’s WE Innovate cohort.  

I would like to extend special thanks to bp, for supporting the programme again this year and for their sponsorship of the prize fund. This fund will undoubtedly have a huge impact on the businesses who receive it.  

I would also like to thank the industry experts and WE Innovate alumni who have peer mentored and shared both their time and expertise. Their insights have been an invaluable source of wisdom for our participants, and they are certainly one of the features which makes WE Innovate truly unique.  

Finally, I would like to thank the Enterprise Lab team for putting together and facilitating the programme. Without them, the programme could not have run so successfully over the past 9 years.   

Meet the Judges

Alexsis de Raadt St James

Managing Partner, Merian Ventures

Founder and Managing Partner of Merian Ventures, a US/UK venture capital firm focused on female founded and cofounded deep tech companies in Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Blockchain and Consumerfacing technologies. Alexsis began her career in the finance, energy and technology sectors, where she held senior executive roles in M&A, venture, corporate finance and product strategy at Shell International and more recently, Merian Ventures.

She is a frequent speaker and author on digital business, venture and the role of women in technology. Alexsis is a Fulbright Commissioner, Advisory Board member at the Oxford Internet Institute, The Foundry at Oxford, Founder of WE Innovate STEM Accelerator Imperial College London and a Board member and Advisor to companies she’s funded or founded. She has an MS from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and an MBA from Erasmus University.

Ladi Greenstreet

UKI Lead, Accenture Ventures, Open Innovation and Chief Executive Officer, Diversity VC

Ladi operates at the intersection between technology, business and innovation is determined to find the best solutions to the world’s most challenging problems. He is the lead for Accenture Ventures UKI where is specialises in investing in growth-stage companies and guiding large companies through digital transformation.

He is also the CEO for Diversity.VC, a non-profit on a mission to create a Venture Capital industry where one’s identity is no longer a barrier to making or receiving investments. As a bridge between an extensive network of enterprise, entrepreneurs and investors, he is uniquely placed to lead impactful change.

Vjera Magdalenic-Moussavi

Director of Industry Partnerships & Commercialisation FoM, Imperial

Director of Industry Partnerships and Commercialisation for the Faculty of Medicine at Imperial College London, leading the Faculty’s Industry Partnerships and Commercialisation (IPC) team in maximising the impact of Imperial’s research discoveries by stimulating, identifying and progressing opportunities to develop research and technologies through collaboration and commercialisation.

Responsible for the strategy, organisation and operations of the IPC – Medicine team, seeking to grow engagement with industry , research translation and commercialisation activities, guiding the protection, development and commercialisation of Imperial’s discoveries which have a transformative impact on society.

Sponsor

We are seeking sponsors to support our groundbreaking programmes to develop Imperial students’ entrepreneurial ambitions. 

Our game changers

Teams

Here are some of the teams previous funders have supported.

NutriAdmin
NutriAdmin

NutriAdmin is a specialist all-in-one software platform that enables nutrition professionals to streamline their business operations and enhance customer service by automating routine tasks. Find out more

Team Repair
Team Repair

A sustainable subscription service that teaches children science and technology by sending them electronic gadgets with carefully planned faults to fix, guided by our app. Find out more

Orbio Earth
Orbio Earth

Leveraging the power of satellite data and data fusion algorithms to provide trustworthy and actionable methane intelligence for emission reductions and benchmarking efforts. Find out more

Virtue
Virtue

Making a social impact by providing both transparency and accessibility for all retailers. Find out more

TwinnHealth
TwinnHealth

An AI cloud-based platform designed to analyse MRI images and detect metabolic disease. Find out more

MagDrive
MagDrive

An electrical propulsion system that is more than 10 times as powerful as any other electrical system, without compromising its efficiency. Find out more

Nanomox
Nanomox

Helping small make it big: enabling nanomaterial production to be cheaper, sustainable and high quality. Find out more

DotPlot
DotPlot

Enabling early breast cancer detection through an at-home device and app for easy and accessible breast health monitoring. Find out more

Deploy Tech
Deploy Tech

Deploy has developed the world’s first of a kind air-deployed, ready-to-use concrete water tank. Find out more

The latest

News

From bioengineering to breaking down bias
From bioengineering to breaking down bias

Growing up, Riham Satti knew one thing was for sure – she wasn’t going to be an entrepreneur ... Read more

Cherrie Hui: Why attend the How To Talks
Cherrie Hui: Why attend the How To Talks

Hi! I am Cherrie Hui from the MSc Strategic Marketing (online) programme. Like some of my peers, I joined Imperial College London because I wanted the world-class training and resources to have my own business one day. The How To Talks are the perfect way to get inspired to start something new! Read more

Mental Health Awareness Week: Startup your mental wellbeing
Mental Health Awareness Week: Startup your mental wellbeing

Entrepreneurship is a marathon, not a sprint. You need to look after your mental wellbeing for the long haul. Read more

ApTap partner with TSB to reach five million customers
ApTap partner with TSB to reach five million customers

TSB’s research found that 40% of Brits would be more likely to switch energy providers if they knew that it would take less than 10 minutes to make the change. Using the new ApTap feature takes on average around five minutes to make the switch, dispelling the common myth that it’s tricky and time consuming to change suppliers. Read more

Imperial changemakers named in community of Europe’s best young innovators
Imperial changemakers named in community of Europe’s best young innovators

Scores of student innovators, alumni and researchers from Imperial have been named in this year’s Forbes 30 Under 30 lists. Read more

GyroGear secured £3.1M seed funding for development of its wearable device GyroGlove
GyroGear secured £3.1M seed funding for development of its wearable device GyroGlove

GyroGear, founded by Dr Faii Ong, received $4.3M (equivalent to £3.1M) in phase one of its seed funding round led by Foxconn Technology Group Read more

Co-founder of Happyr Health wins Women in Innovation Award from Innovate UK and KTN
Co-founder of Happyr Health wins Women in Innovation Award from Innovate UK and KTN

Nicola Filzmoser, co-founder of Happyr Health, won the Women in Innovation Award 2021 from Innovate UK and KTN. Read more

‘Intelligent’ mattress topper wins Imperial’s biggest startup competition
‘Intelligent’ mattress topper wins Imperial’s biggest startup competition

A team of Imperial students is developing an innovative mattress topper to predict and prevent pressure ulcers before they develop. Read more

Meet the five student startups that could change the world
Meet the five student startups that could change the world

Five Imperial student startups will battle it out in the final of the College’s biggest entrepreneurial competition, the Venture Catalyst Challenge. Read more

Put women at the heart of a post-pandemic tech boom
Put women at the heart of a post-pandemic tech boom

Women shouldn’t be left out of the tech boom needed for post-pandemic recovery, argue Alice Gast and Alexsis de Raadt St James. Read more

The founder formula
The founder formula

D/srupt spoke to Alice Bentinck, Co-Founder of Entrepreneur First, about finding people with ‘the edge’, striving for diversity in tech and why founder break-ups aren’t necessarily a bad thing ... Read more

Imperial Investment Fund backs Charco Neurotech
Imperial Investment Fund backs Charco Neurotech

The Imperial College Investment Fund has made its first investment into a startup developing a non-invasive device to help manage Parkinson's symptoms Read more

Finding “weak signals” from the future
Finding “weak signals” from the future

Opportunity is all around, if you know where to look. But have you ever turned your gaze to signals from the future? Read more

RESOLV is recognised by the Legal Tech Breakthrough Award
RESOLV is recognised by the Legal Tech Breakthrough Award

The team have also received £100K funding from Innovate UK. Read more

VUI Diagnostics join the DigitalHealth.London Accelerator 2020-2021
VUI Diagnostics join the DigitalHealth.London Accelerator 2020-2021

Bringing their retinal imaging technology to NHS and improving lives of patients with avoidable blindness Read more

Co-founder of Treeconomy was selected to join the Founders of the Future Fellowship
Co-founder of Treeconomy was selected to join the Founders of the Future Fellowship

By combating climate change issues with innovative technology Read more

What's on

From community events to expert masterclasses… There’s always something going on at the E-Lab

Next events

Community Collider October
Community Collider October

Event dateOctober 18, 2023

Sign up
Summer Accelerator 2023 Showcase
Summer Accelerator 2023 Showcase

Event dateOctober 25, 2023

Sign up

Connect

Join our community, meet co-founders and grow your entrepreneurial network!

Our monthly social bringing together students and postdocs from every corner of Imperial College London.

Stay productive and focused while working on your business idea. Make the E-Lab your office and creative space.

Use your creativity and critical thinking to solve a challenge set by us. Win prizes for the best idea and best pitch!

Explore

Speak to someone about your idea and learn the skills you need to test it in the real world

Validate

Fast-track your idea on one of our cohort-based entrepreneurship programmes

Imperial’s flagship entrepreneurship programme for students and postdocs with an annual prize fund of £100K.

The UK’s leading university programme championing women-led startup teams with an annual £30K prize fund.

A 12 week programme for students looking to give their business idea a big developmental push over the summer months.

More available programmes

Grow

Get expert support and advice to turn your idea into a successful commercial venture

About

We’re passionate about inspiring the next generation of innovators and entrepreneurs

Contact

Got a question, need some advice or just need directions to the best basement on campus? Get in touch!

Find us

Imperial College London
Level 0, Sherfield Building
(Access next to Great Hall)
South Kensington Campus
Exhibition Road
London SW7 2AZ